Bloomingdale Defeats Durant 6-0 To Win District Championship

By Tamas Mondovics

As it was expected and by many predicted, this year’s District 13 girls flag football championship game saw the top two seed teams Bloomingdale and Durant battle for the trophy.

The Cougars, as newcomers to the realigned district, played hard all season sporting the number one seed spot entering the playoffs, but at the end of the close, low scoring game, the district title went to number two seed, the Bulls.

“We had one goal for the season,” said Bulls Head Coach Michael Langford. “Being the district champions, we have reached our goal. We knew that we could beat any of the teams on our schedule and, we did.”

Facing its district rival with confidence, the Bulls took the six-point lead early, which they held onto for the rest of the game. The victory is special for Bloomingdale, as it has earned the program its first-ever flag football district championship at its own Charley Harris Stadium.

“It was team work and playing all season one game at a time,” said Bulls Junior Running Back Alysa Welker.

Senior Quarterback Petie Bistolfi agreed by adding what she believed led to her team’s success when she said, “We knew what we had to do to win today and by keeping mistakes down we won the game. It feels great to end the season as champions.”

The district showdown brought together four great programs, five of which in the last six-years went to the East Bay Indians.

East Bay and Newsome both worked hard during the two-day, three-game playoff event, which began with Durant taking on Newsome while East Bay had another chance to overcome Bloomingdale.

Having nothing to lose, Newsome came out strong and taking an early lead, made Durant work for their win. Following, a 13-0 deficit Durant turned the game around and defeated Newsome 19-13.

The game was followed by the battle between the Bulls and the Indians, which for the second time in two weeks proved to reveal the better team.

With a score of 25-6, East Bay lost its opportunity of reaching the championship game giving Bloomingdale the chance to finally compete in the post season.

“We did not have a losing season,” Indians coach Michael Cooper said, adding that the roller coaster season with several close wins and four of those losses with six points or less, could have gone either way. “With 13 players, nine of whom were varsity rookies along with six of them freshmen, I am proud of the effort my players put forth.”